Not much new to report

Things have returned to normal around the Loy house. But, of course, things are changing, as well.

I started picking up extra hours at the imaging center. It's been good so far. They're training me on the DEXA (bone density) machine and I'm going to be working my first Saturday this weekend by myself. The UAA students also started up their spring semester, and that always adds a challenge to my days.

Todd and I are changing Mason's preschool/daycare situation. It was a LOOOOOONNNG and very hard decision to make, but I (we) really feel like it will be the best for everyone, especially Mason. He has two more weeks left at JEC and then he'll start at the Providence daycare in their preschool room. Hopefully sometime soon we'll get a chance to take Mason by there to see it and meet his new teachers so it won't be such a huge shock on his first day.

I'm going on almost 7 weeks without any MS meds. I'm not sure if things seem like they're worse because I know that or not, but hopefully everything will calm down either way. I did go by my neurologist's office today to fill out the Copaxone paperwork. Dr. Burt (Chicago study doctor) wants me to at least be on this while we wait for my insurance to respond and the Tysabri to fully get out of my system. I'm not looking forward to doing shots every day again, but hopefully it won't be for too long.

Today was 15 degrees above zero, which felt so warm after what felt like forever of 15 degrees below.

Like I said, not much new to report.

He knows me so well

Todd got me personalized plates for Christmas. I was first shocked they weren't already taken, and then I just smiled because my husband knows me so very well (and loves me anyway)

New Year's Fun

Our new year's weekend was a lot of fun. Todd and I headed up to my family's cabin in Nancy Lake with our two dogs, followed by Cameron, Sarah and their two dogs. Yep, you read that right, no kids!

It was pretty (ok, really) cold up there, but I had fun staying in and relaxing. We played scattegories and cranium, and watched some Will Farrell classics. Of course, I took my Kindle and read a lot, too. Todd had fun finding some incredibly hideous clothes to model for us, including a shirt that no one has any idea what it means. Pretty sure the best quote of the weekend, though, was while we were playing Cranium. It was a clue that had to be drawn, the word was "house husband" and as Todd was drawing it, Sarah blurts out "BROOMING PENIS"!

You know you're jealous of our awesomeness

Poor Jake. He's such a laid back guy, it's easy to torture him

Jake thinking he was tiny enough to fit into
Duncan's little dog bed.

Beautiful, but really cold

Awesome golf shirt Todd found. I helped complete this
look with the hat.

Mini table tennis....across the cabin

You'd never know from this picture, but he was
the only sober one in the bunch

Broken glasses fixed just in time for midnight

Poor Duncan, he has no real snout to speak of so
holding glasses on his head was not so easy

And Jakers again, wondering when we were going
to just go to bed and leave him alone

Here's the shirt no one knows what it means. "Final Entry"

You just had to be there.

Hot Tub Time Machine

Mason recently went in our hot tub for the first time. He thinks it's just the funniest thing to have a "bath tub" outside, especially one that is so deep and has so much room for playing.

Getting ready to go

Mason thought the thermometer was hilarious

Hi Mommy!

So much fun

I don't know why the water level is low, Daddy

We had to show him to dunk down if his arms
or shoulders got cold to warm back up

Halloween and Snow

As I said before, Mason was a monkey again for Halloween. He had a lot of fun and is still enjoying the candy being around the house.

Anchorage finally got a decent amount of snow dumped on us, too. Saturday and Sunday gave us about 8 inches of snow in town and Mason is loving every little flake!

Indoor trick or treating is great!

My sweet Haily helping Mason around

Checking out his loot

Crazy kid

Crazy kid...and Daddy, too

Mason and Atalaya

Making snow angels

Buried in the snow

"I want to eat this"

Landon on his snow machine

Uncle Cameron taking Mason (we couldn't find Mason's
helmet, so we had to use a bike one...)

Landon and Mason

Having a blast!

Warming up by the fire at Papa and Nana's

Reindeer Farm

A few Saturdays ago, the three of us took a short drive out to Palmer to visit the Reindeer Farm. Of course, our Alaska boy kept calling them caribou, and had no idea who Rudolph is...but it was fun just the same. (To set the record straight, caribou and reindeer are the same animal. The only difference is that reindeer are domesticated.)

Mason got to feed the reindeer and a moose, go on a tractor ride, run through a hay maze and pick his own pumpkin out of the pumpkin patch. The only thing he absolutely would NOT do was ride on a pony.

Looking at these pictures also reminds me what a beautiful place we live in.

Feed a pony? No problem. Ride it? Hell no!

He still wanted to check out what the saddle was all about.

There were a lot of very hungry reindeer around.

So sweet.

We had a talk on the way home about this being a "special"moose and
that the moose we see by our house are not "special" moose so
we can't feed them. 

My two boys enjoying the ride.

Running through the hay maze

Which way should we go now?

"Over here, Mommy! Hurry up!"

Having a tootsie roll treat

Looking at all the reindeer

A hay "tunnel"

Having fun, even with that cold, red nose

So many pumpkins to choose from!

"I want this one, please"